Sofa sets, recliner leather chair, Ashley sofas, acme furniture, Ashley furniture sofa, glass side tables, Coffee table set, coffee tables end tables, sofas and loveseats, entertainment centers, sectional sofas, contemporary dinettes, dinette sets, dinette furniture, unique furniture
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Rearranging a Room

May 14th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips | Home Design - (0 Comments)

I have lived in my current apartment for two years now and have plans to stay even longer. This is the longest amount of time that I have ever lived in one place since I left for college! I have to tell you that it’s kind of nice being able to call a place home for an extended amount of time.

But even that which comforts us can sometimes bore us. For example, I have had my sofa set and leather recliner chair in the exact same positions as when I moved in. It’s definitely time for a change. Here are some tips I learned on rearranging a room.

First, take a look at how you want to use the room. If you use your living room mainly for watching television, don’t set the room up in a way that makes it difficult to see the TV. Also, make sure you aren’t covering any vents or putting leather furniture directly next to a heater or air conditioner.

Second, draw it out. This way you know you’ll like how it looks! Drawing the space or floor plan in scale before you move the furniture can save you a lot of time and a lot of sore backs the next day.

Speaking of sore backs, don’t hurt yourself moving large pieces. Ask for help and get a furniture dolly to help you.

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Outdoor Furniture Indoors

May 7th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips | Home Design - (0 Comments)

More and more I feel like furniture is being asked to multi-task. We want a couch that can also be a bed and be completely fashionable and trendy at the same time. Oh, and did we mention it has to be comfortable? That’s definitely a must.


With our desire for our furniture to be more versatile it’s no wonder that people are trying to bring the outside in! Outdoor furniture is becoming the newest trend in small apartment living in big cities. There are people bringing in outdoor patio seating to replace their sectional sofas and want pillows with outdoor material in their armchairs. This is definitely a way to bring unique furniture pieces into your home.


If you have a breakfast nook, a small Parisian style table and chair set would be perfect for a spot of sun drenched breakfast! Outdoor pillows come in bright and fun colors so they add some pop to any room! This is especially true if you have neutral colored furniture already. Another perk is that if you spill a drink on it you don’t have to worry too much! These fabrics are weather resistant!


I’m not saying you need to bring your patio set indoors, but a few key pieces in a small apartment make for a kitschy atmosphere!

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The Sofa Set is Not a Scratching Post

April 23rd, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

As a cat owner I have felt the joys and the pains of having two fuzzy felines living in my apartment. When I first brought them home they could actually fit inside the entertainment center compartments. Who knew that two adorable little balls of fluff that size could make such a disastrous mess!

We decided not to declaw our cats. Instead, we bought a scratching post for them and started to train them to use it. They absolutely loved it! They loved scratching on the post so much that they decided to start scratching other things as well. That included our sofa set. They progressed to destroying our box spring, and eventually there wasn’t a cloth covered object in the house that didn’t bear little claw marks on it.

Thankfully there are ways of making sure the cats don’t scratch on the furniture. The biggest thing you can do is make sure that their scratching post is near where the action is. If this means having an eyesore of a cat post next to the sofa for a few months, so be it. The cats are social animals and want to be where you are. Eventually, you’ll be able to move it away into a corner and they’ll still use it instead of the couch as their favorite place to dull their claws.

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Entertainment Centers for Gamers

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

Not too long ago I wrote about how my boyfriend got a new gaming system for the holidays. He’s still loving it and still plays it almost daily. I’m glad he’s getting so much use out of it, but so is the furniture around it. The entertainment center that we bought needed to be taken back. We didn’t realize that it’s doors and closed in frame would cause the game system to overheat and freeze or shut down on its own.

When choosing an entertainment center, it’s a good idea to check up on what other people are using. We could have saved ourselves a trip to the store if we had just read about how the unit overheated when enclosed in an entertainment center.

With the entertainment center comes the other furniture. We were due for a new couch anyway so we finally got a new sofa set. This is good because when he’s playing a game he tends to take up most of the loveseat. This way I get a whole sofa to myself to relax on and enjoy a good book or to work.

I guess the moral of this story is that when you’re buying furniture for someone who plays video games, do your research and make sure you get the right equipment. Otherwise it could cause headaches down the line.

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The Right Chair Makes the Difference

April 10th, 2012 | Posted by KristenM in Home Design - (0 Comments)

dinette furnitureWhen shopping for dinette furniture, the chairs are just as important as the table you choose. Sometimes you might opt for a table that already comes with matching chairs, but it can be more fashionable and fun if you choose them separately. This allows you to get a little creative, mixing and matching colors and styles of wood.

But one thing should be a requirement: comfort. You’ll be, ideally, eating at the table almost every night. And when guests come over, you do not want them to dine in uncomfortable chairs. You’ll be the talk of the town, and not in a good way. Personally, I enjoy dining chairs that already have a cushion on them. Upholstered chairs are elegant and will provide plenty of support for your body. If you choose wooden chairs, you might be inclined to purchase dining cushions for them. Some do not find the tie-on cushions quite as nice to sit on. You should try testing it out before you decide. Sometimes they can slide around and they will flatten over time. But they’re easy to replace.

The right chairs for your dinette set can make a world of difference to both you and your guests.

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Furniture Buying Tips

April 2nd, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

Buying a sofa set because it looks good is, on the surface, fine to do. However, that’s not the only reason to purchase a sectional sofa, recliner, or other kinds of furniture. You should definitely check out the quality of the piece before purchasing. Here are some tips on what to look for.

First, when you find a couch that you might enjoy, you should check to see if it fits in your home. Then look at how it’s made. Check the stitching on the cushions and the frame upholstery. Like wallpaper it should be one piece the whole way around and line up well. The seams should match up well and not appear loose. Pick up the seat cushions. Usually, the heavier the cushion, the better the quality. Better quality usually means more comfortable for a longer period of time.

Ask if the sofa frame has been “kiln dried.” This means that the wood has been sucked of humidity and sealed by heat. These types of sofas also tend to last for longer periods of time.

If you’re buying leather, ask if it’s top grain. Don’t let the salesperson trick you by saying it’s “leather like” or a “leather match.” This just means that it’s vinyl masquerading as leather and you shouldn’t pay top dollar for it.

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Dinette Set FAQs

March 26th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

When purchasing a great dinette set, people often have many questions that aren’t answered by the manufacturer. Sure, the ad tells you how much a certain set is and how many chairs it comes with but what about the other, unanswered questions?

First, people often use rugs or carpets under their dinette sets to protect the floors from getting scuffed under the moving of chairs. How large should this rug be? Ideally, you want a rug that when the chair is pulled out to a level that is comfortable for sitting back in the chair (i.e. the after dinner coffee position) that all four legs are still comfortably in the chair.

If you’re wondering what else you should buy for your dining room besides a great dinette set, there are so many different options available to you. First, the dinette set isn’t the only table that can be in your dining room. Try buying bar tables to set around the edges of your dining room for additional, informal seating. Be sure to keep it in the same style as the rest of the room though. If you are getting a very formal dining room with high backed chairs and formal carved leg chairs, don’t get barstools to sit around a table on the side of your set!

Oh How I Want a Sectional Sofa

March 19th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Home Design - (0 Comments)

I used to live in a small studio apartment. It was actually rather large for a studio and I could fit a lot of things into it. Since I had only had one room, I didn’t have any pieces of living room furniture. When I moved into that new space, I went out and bought a great coffee table set and a fantastic little loveseat. It was perfect for that studio space.

I’ve since moved again and into a much bigger place. This place looked cavernous compared to my studio and all of my furniture looked tiny. Ever since then, I’ve been dreaming about buying larger and better furniture for my home.

What I really want is a sectional sofa. See, I now live with my boyfriend who is 6’4″. This makes sitting or lying on the little loveseat a little, well, cramped. When I want to work on my blog and he wants to play video games it would be really nice if we could actually fit on the couch without being directly on top of each other.

It would also be really nice to stretch out and snuggle with our two cats or read a book without being balled up on half of a loveseat. That’s why I really want to get a sectional sofa!

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Outdoor Dinette Sets

March 12th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

The warm weather is here. It’s time to start thinking about spring and summer barbeques with corn on the cob, cool evening air, and citronella candles. Odds are you’re already daydreaming about those evenings when you can sit outside after a good meal watching the night approach while you listen to the baseball game on the radio.

Alright, that might just be me, but it’s a very vivid picture. Regardless of who you listen to on the radio or what you have for dinner it’s always nice to celebrate the coming of the warm weather around a great dinette set. You want one that will last through being outside in the elements but still has a great sleek look. Contemporary dinettes are much more popular at this time of year. They’re usually more durable than their traditional counterparts and can stand up to the sun and other elements.

If you don’t feel comfortable putting out really nice furniture on an open patio, it’s a great idea to put it on a closed in sun room or closed patio. Think about it, less bugs (so less citronella) and the same relaxing spring/summer air but without the elements to ruin your amazing dinette set.

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Extra Storage in Your Livingroom

March 5th, 2012 | Posted by kristing in Furniture Tips - (0 Comments)

I used to live in an apartment with zero closets. No, I’m not kidding. I had no closet space at all in this place. With that kind of environment I was forced to find other types of storage solutions. Thankfully, they weren’t hard to find.

When I went out to purchase a sectional sofa, I found one that was on sale and also came with an ottoman. This was great as I usually put my feet up on the coffee table and now I could stop doing that. But it also had storage inside of it. The top of the ottoman lifted off and revealed a storage space large enough to fit the extra blankets, sheets, and pillows that I was not currently using on my bed. It made it a lot easier to have guests over because instead of rummaging around in the myriad of baskets and storage containers that were in strategic places around the apartment, I could have all of these things in one place. It doesn’t hurt that it also matched the sofa set so no one was really aware it was storage until I opened it.

Now that I live in an apartment that is much bigger and has FIVE closets, I still use that ottoman for storage.

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